At the Genesis of man, creation was completed in six days,
and God rested on the seventh. This
institution was a memorial among other things for us to remember that Jesus the
Christ, is our creator. And if Jesus can
create a thing, He can also re-create a thing.
Reclamation is not as hard as invention, at least not to the Savior of
our souls. But over time man
forgot. So on top of Mount Sinai, etched
by the finger of Jesus into the rock tablets He carved, were the words …
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
We cannot make it holy, but we can remember that it “is” holy; as God
has set aside His time, to be with us in a special way. A time to hang out with our God. But over time man twisted the meaning of
“play time with Dad” into lists of do’s and don’ts. Trust was lost that Jesus could restore in us
what we could not restore, and hope was failing in redemption itself.
But then Jesus came to us in person. He practiced what He had commanded. He did not just attend the synagogues on
Sabbath, He taught there on that day. He
honored His own edict that God would be with man on the special day of the
Sabbath. But Jesus did more than teach,
He fed those in need, He healed those in pain.
He met the needs of His children in order that their time with Him would
not be distracted by common needs, or the pain sin causes. He forgave us. He released us from the bondage to sin,
whether by demons inhabiting us, or simply by our chains to sin and self-love. He came to perform the work of our
redemption. And throughout this work, He
kept His Sabbath with us. But now, the
zenith of His work for us had reached its peak.
And Friday sunset was coming. The
same sunset that greeted Adam and Eve when He walked with them in the garden,
teaching them the mysteries of the universe, and of love itself so many years
ago. But on this Friday sunset, Jesus
would greet the Sabbath at rest Himself.
Peter recalls the urgency of the Sabbath’s approach to John
Mark in his gospel in chapter fifteen picking up in verse 42 saying … “And now
when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before
the sabbath,” Sunset changes everything,
or it should. Preparations must be made
before the Sabbath arrives. Here is
where the list of do’s and don’ts might better thrive. Did you remember to prepare the food as much
as possible? We don’t want to miss time
with God because we are distracted by cooking.
Did you remember to clean our home?
We don’t want to lessen our enjoyment with God, distracted by a messy
home, with things out of place, or dirt piled up that we cannot see. Did you arrange to insure the workers at our
home have the Sabbath off? We want to
make sure those who serve us do not have to be occupied doing so, when they
could be enjoying time with God themselves, we wish not to be that distraction
from time with Him.
Manna fell in double portion for Israel on Friday’s and
lasted through Sabbath for them without spoiling. But on no other day was this possible. The preparation or cleaning of the home was
not meant to be a dictate of misery. It
was meant to be a liberation for those who normally serve in the home, to be
free as well to enjoy their time with God.
The work of preparation was work of anticipation. But on this Friday, Jesus could not engage in
it Himself. He was already at rest. Someone else had to do it for Him. Someone else had to do for God, what God was
unable to do on this particular Sabbath.
And the time was growing short, for Sunset would change everything.
Mark continues in verse 43 saying … “Joseph of Arimathaea,
an honourable counseller, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and
went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.” Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin. He had not been included in the travesty of
the event they had called a trial. He
was not consulted in the vote to put Him to death. He was informed only after it was done. Joseph was suspected of being sympathetic to
Jesus. But Joseph had not been bold
either. He and Nicodemus spoke in quiet
tones, at night, away from prying eyes.
They studied scripture and the more they looked, the more it pointed to
the Truth of Jesus Christ. But where caution
had ruled the day before the death of Christ, it was thrown to the wind after
He died. Joseph was overcome by a desire
to do one last kindness for Jesus. And
he was driven to do it quickly, as the Sabbath approached.
Mark continues in verse 44 saying … “And Pilate marvelled if
he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether
he had been any while dead. [verse 45] And when he knew it of the centurion, he
gave the body to Joseph.” Again Pilate
looked upon these events from an entirely different perspective than the Jewish
one. Pilate was amazed that Jesus was
dead so quickly. No man died this fast
before, not ever. That was the point of
the cross. It was meant to torture its
victim over several days. Otherwise one could
just behead the victim and be done with it immediately. That Jesus could be dead so soon represented
a marvel in the eyes of Pilate. Pilate
was aware of the darkness, he had seen it.
Pilate was aware of the earthquake he had felt it, and heard about the
rip in the Temple curtain. Pilate needed
confirmation from his centurion that Jesus was really dead, and not some trick
to be performed on him. So a spear was
thrust into the side of Jesus, blood and water emerged from the wound, but no
reaction. He was dead. The legs of the other two were broken, but
not a bone of Jesus, as scripture had foretold.
Pilate grants the request of Joseph. Mark continues in verse 46 saying … “And he
bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid
him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the
door of the sepulchre.” Joseph did not
buy cheap materials to wrap a dead body in.
He bought the finest linen he could secure. His purchase gives way to the Christian legend
of the imprint of Jesus left within the material surviving the ages. Joseph lays Jesus in his own best burial
tomb, he will secure another for himself later.
Jesus has need of it now. The
tomb is carved out in solid rock, no scavengers will get in here. Mimicking the Egyptians for preserving a body
as close to Jewish tradition as possible for burial Joseph gives his all in
this quest. Joseph has no idea this is
merely a hotel for short storage.
The round rock takes many Roman soldiers to move in front of
the door, but before they do a few witnesses take notice. Mark continues in verse 47 saying … “And Mary
Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.” The women who still refuse to leave their
Lord are present. They examine where
Jesus will be laid, in order that they may come later and anoint their Lord
with the spices and preservatives that will best keep Him in tact. But while the women of extreme courage remain
present, so too are the spies of the Temple.
You can imagine as the Sanhedrin learns of Josephs kindness revealed,
they have other intentions. They request
a Roman garrison be put on guard at the tomb at least until the third day
passes, in order to prevent prophecy, or theft and deception. They too examine the body of Christ, and the
place where He is laid. They too witness
the Roman guards move the heavy stone, and then seal it with a Roman seal, the
breaking of which will mean death. But
they must hurry for sunset approaches.
Humanity does not realize the God they are commanded to take
time away from everything else and be with, is the Jesus Christ they lay in
this tomb. They do not realize that the
ultimate price for our redemption has been paid by Jesus, and that the
separation from God that He endured on that cross, the separation that killed
Him, is something we need not endure.
Humanity sees only a dead Rabbi, like any other before Him, but perhaps
this one was more kind. Humanity sees
only a dead prophet, one closer to God than any before Him, able to perform
great miracles, but now dead and entombed like any other. Our vision does not discern the divine. We see only what we know. We measure time only by how we know it to
pass. But what we miss is that even in
death, Jesus will rest upon this Sabbath day, from the work of our redemption,
as He once rested from the work of our creation.
Divinity sees something else. Sunset will change everything. The Sabbath will be the longest portion of
the three days spent in this tomb. Jesus
dies only hours before it on Friday the first of three days. He will rise early Sunday morning only hours
into the third day. It will be Sabbath
that is spent in full where Jesus will rest from the work of our
redemption. The Sabbath will begin with
sunset on Friday, and then end with it on Saturday evening. A full 24 hour day spent in rest from the
work of keeping us away from the eternal punishment, the eternal separation
from God, that we have chosen, and we have earned. Here is where mercy will sleep. Here is where mercy will rest. This day is not spent in preparation of the
resumption of the work of our reclamation.
Here a full day will be set aside to simply rest in the sleep we call death. Divine eyes see that death does not end the
Sabbath memorial, it re-establishes it through the very actions of the Son of
God Himself.
The Sabbath began at the Genesis of man before sin in our
world existed. It was reaffirmed at the
covenant of man with our creator on Mount Sinai. It was demonstrated by our God Himself, in His
life and ministry before death, and then in full when He died. It will be continued as Isaiah predicts in
our heavenly home forever and ever.
Divine eyes see Sabbath in its reaffirmation by Jesus Himself. If you consider that the Kingdom of God was meant
for little children. And you combine
this with idea of a day set aside with God where our Dad sets aside His time to
be with us. Then perhaps you come to the
idea that Sabbath is not a list of the concerns of adults, but rather
unscripted playtime with Dad. We prepare
for it, only because we do not want to be distracted by any other concern
during it. We honor our time with Him,
but insuring no one else has to spend their time serving us, instead of joining
us, with our time with Him. Until we think
in alignment with Jesus, until He transforms how we think in this regard, our
ability to keep Sabbath is stunted at best.
Sunset has changed everything …
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